Switches

[santino]

I am trying to clean my points of my turnouts. I thought I read a fews years ago some guys use sandpaper or some type of "paper" to clean switches. Sorry if i used the wrong terminology.

 

[Selector]

I use sandpaper, but very fine grain...about 600 grit. It is almost like emery cloth. You could use small squares of it glued to a shack roof on your layout, and with weathering, it would look just right.

You fold it so that two roughened sides face outward, slip it between a point and its stock rail, close the two rails together and pinch them semi-firmly, and then pull the sand paper out from between them. That, or adding one more such swipe, should have them clean.

Really, though, both of us should remove the turnouts and solder jumpers properly so that dirty points contact would be irrelevant.

I might do that when I run out of the small strips of sand paper.

-Crandell

 

[UP2CSX]

I guess I should do the same thing. Until then, my prefered way to clean points is with a thin fine tooth file, almost like a nail file. The one I have is just about the height of the track and I clean both sides of the points with it. A side benefit is that it sharpens the points just a bit, which helps prevent wheels from picking the points.

 

[santino]

Thank You for the replies, I will give them a try.